Ghost Nets and Ghost Traps The most horrible and dangerous things in the ocean are not animals, but rather non-living things called "ghost nets and ghost traps". Ghost Nets Ghost nets are fishnets that have been lost or abandoned and float freely around the ocean. Also know as "walls of death", ghost nets capture fish, turtles, dolphins, seals and other marine creatures and drag them to their death. The nets will become full of captured creatures and sink to the ocean floor. After the dead animals decompose and fall out of the net, it rises up again to continue on its deadly path. Because fishnets are made from durable materials, these nets can last for years killing everything that gets caught in their web. Ghost Traps Ghost traps are traps that are also lost or abandoned and remain on the bottom of the ocean. As with the nets, ghost traps can remain intact on the bottom catching eels, lobsters and bottom fish for years and years. To avoid these ghost traps, traps with rot-out panels should be used so that if lost or discarded, the traps will eventually deteriorate, allowing trapped fish and shellfish to escape.
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